Ideas and Cyber logic

How does a computer graphic design teacher become a globally award-winning creative director? By re-inventing himself through big, scalable ideas, says worldwide creative director for interactive for Saatchi & Saatchi, Tom Eslinger, who is also jury president of Cyber Lotus for AdFest 2008?  

How should interactive agencies re-invent themselves?

Everyone in our business is talking about reinventing - the key is to not talk about it, get rid of everything in your business that doesn't create the reinvention and focus on the work and the people. Ideas, big scalable ones, are what will reinvent any business. 

What level of work are you expecting in this year's Cyber category at AdFest?

I always expect to see great ideas. When I was president of the Cyber jury at Cannes last year, I predicted we would find the top awards in Cyber before the other juries - in Film and Titanium - and we did just that. I'd like to see that trend start with AdFest this year.

What will you be looking out for?

Great ideas. Stuff that relies on technical trickery without an idea behind it will need to get out of the way for great ideas that drive the tech, rather than the other way around.

What is your observation of Asian interactive advertising?

I've worked in Australasia for years, based in NZ, working across our Singapore and now our China offices. There is some great work happening, but the craft needs to be fantastic all the time and the ideas need to move on - there are still too many microsites and banners being produced. Our audience has moved into mobile, social networks and interactive outdoor. I want to see some break-out work across all screens, walls, floors, buildings - anything we can project or display on.

Engaging with a brand's product or service behind a screen is different from physically seeing, touching, hearing, smelling it. How can companies develop their brands in a way that keeps it ‘real'?
Tie it back to real customer experiences: use outdoor, mobile, gadgets, desktop widgets, Bluetooth - anything that creates an interactive experience where the consumer is at that moment, rather than always trying to drag them to some website.

Marketers are not fully using digital media. Why?

There is a disconnect between media placement and buying and creative agencies. There are not enough skilled account directors, planners and creatives to make informed, business-centered recommendations to clients. In order to get more interactive into a client's marketing programme, you need to make smart, business-centred ideas for clients, prove the return and keep the client at the centre of the process. Agencies going back and selling a YouTube video to a client and calling it interactive not only confuses clients, it doesn't do anything for anyone's business.

How can interactive marketers leverage on CGC?

It always depends on the client and its needs, what it will do for the brand and the biggest question: why? More and more, I see user generated work for a campaign as a creative company being lazy. I don't know about anyone else, but I don't want to always have to make something or send something in to participate. I want to be engaged by an idea. Most ‘make your own' campaigns are lame, unless they centre on the product and demonstrate or extend the campaign. When we did Rubbish Film Fest in New Zealand, 100s of films were created, but the whole campaign was built around making movies on your mobile and sending them via WAP. We started with a client need (sell phones and services for video messaging) and worked out from there. Leveraging a product benefit or insight about the audience makes user participation more authentic and worthwhile. It also picked up Gold at Cannes, even better.

What skills do you possess and are they easy to find today?

I've done everything from design fonts for RayGun magazine to games for Adidas and T-Mobile and many other online/mobile/outdoor interactive bits in between. I have always worked in a fully integrated creative team, and I need to emphasise team, because no single person can create a fully-integrated campaign idea. I'm good at bringing together partner companies and working them into the creative mix. I put the client and their business at the centre of what we're doing and I always challenge them and the teams. Is it difficult to find this talent? Yes, that's why I recruit young and train in-house.

The one practice that should be made obsolete in marketing is...

People constantly talking about integration and interactive and then pumping out more TV ads, with matching luggage as the interactive work. Separating interactive creative, planning and account management from the centre of the creative process is just dumb. Yes, it takes time, but it's worth it.

What motivates you in your career?

Seeing the work that I have a passion for is becoming the way of working and thinking is what has always motivated me. This is the beginning of a long path for me and working with young groovers just starting out keeps me sharp, focused and is always great fun. These are still early days and we need to keep pushing, changing and surprising each other and our clients, and especially the people we want to touch with our ideas.